T.C.
DOKUZ EYLÜL ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ
BATI DİLLERİ VE EDEBİYATI ANABİLİM DALI AMERİKAN KÜLTÜRÜ VE EDEBİYATI PROGRAMI
YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ
THE USE OF HUMOR, DREAM VISIONS AND PERSONAL
RECOLLECTIONS AS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN
SHERMAN ALEXIE’S RESERVATION BLUES AND THE
LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN
Burcu ERTUĞRUL AKSU
Danışman
Yard. Doç. Dr. Esra ÇOKER
Yemin Metni
Yüksek Lisans Tezi olarak sunduğum “The Use of Humor, Dream Visions and Personal Recollections as Survival Strategies in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” adlı çalışmanın, tarafımdan, bilimsel ahlak ve geleneklere aykırı düşecek bir yardıma başvurmaksızın yazıldığını ve yararlandığım eserlerin kaynakçada gösterilenlerden oluştuğunu, bunlara atıf yapılarak yararlanılmış olduğunu belirtir ve bunu onurumla doğrularım.
Tarih ..../..../...
Burcu ERTUĞRUL AKSU
YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZ SINAV TUTANAĞI Öğrencinin
Adı ve Soyadı : Burcu ERTUĞRUL AKSU
Anabilim Dalı : Batı Dilleri ve Edebiyatı
Programı : Amerikan Kültürü ve Edebiyatı
Tez Konusu : The Use of Humor, Dream Visions and Personal Recollections as Survival Strategies in Sherman Alexie’s
Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Sınav Tarihi ve Saati : …./…../2008 ……:…..
Yukarıda kimlik bilgileri belirtilen öğrenci Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü’nün ……….. tarih ve ………. sayılı toplantısında oluşturulan jürimiz tarafından Lisansüstü Yönetmeliği’nin 18. maddesi gereğince yüksek lisans tez sınavına alınmıştır.
Adayın kişisel çalışmaya dayanan tezini ………. dakikalık süre içinde savunmasından sonra jüri üyelerince gerek tez konusu gerekse tezin dayanağı olan Anabilim dallarından sorulan sorulara verdiği cevaplar değerlendirilerek tezin,
BAŞARILI OLDUĞUNA Ο OY BİRLİĞİ Ο
DÜZELTİLMESİNE Ο* OY ÇOKLUĞU Ο
REDDİNE Ο**
ile karar verilmiştir.
Jüri teşkil edilmediği için sınav yapılamamıştır. Ο*** Öğrenci sınava gelmemiştir. Ο** * Bu halde adaya 3 ay süre verilir.
** Bu halde adayın kaydı silinir.
*** Bu halde sınav için yeni bir tarih belirlenir.
Evet Tez burs, ödül veya teşvik programlarına (Tüba, Fulbright vb.) aday olabilir. Ο
Tez mevcut hali ile basılabilir. Ο
Tez gözden geçirildikten sonra basılabilir. Ο
Tezin basımı gerekliliği yoktur. Ο
JÜRİ ÜYELERİ İMZA
……… □ Başarılı □ Düzeltme □ Red ………... ………□ Başarılı □ Düzeltme □Red ………... ………...… □ Başarılı □ Düzeltme □ Red ……….……
ÖZET Yüksek Lisans Tezi
Sherman Alexie’nin Reservation Blues ve The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in
Heaven
Eserlerinde Mizah, Düş Görüleri ve Kişisel Anıların Hayatta Kalma Stratejisi Olarak Kullanılması
Burcu ERTUĞRUL AKSU Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
Batı Dilleri ve Edebiyatı Ana Bilim Dalı Amerikan Kültürü ve Edebiyatı Programı
Dünya görüşleri farklı olan Avrupalılar ve Kızılderililer ilişkilerinin başından beri birbirlerine ters düşmüşlerdir. Başlangıçta ticarete dayalı olan ilişkileri Kızılderililerin acımasızca muamele edildiği ve kullanıldığı bir ilişki haline dönüşmüştür. Kızılderililer Avrupalıların hem iç hem de dış kolonileştirme ve asimilasyon metotlerına maruz kalmışlardır. Karşılığında, asimilasyonu ve kolonileşmeyi engellemek için tepki vermişlerdir; kabile kimliklerini ve değerlerini korumak için çoğunlukla mücadele etmişlerdir, ve kabilesel miraslarını içeren hayatta kalma stratejileri geliştirmişlerdir. Bu bağlamda Sherman Alexie’nin iki eseri
Reservation Blues ve The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven beyazların
baskısından acı çekmiş ve hayatta kalma mücadeleleri yaşamlarının bir parçası olmuş Kızılderili karakterleri sunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Alexie’nin eserleri üzerine yoğunlaşarak Kızılderililerin aynı zamanda dünya görüşlerinin önemli bir bölümü olan düş görülerini ve hayalleri, bastırılmış ve doyuma ulaşmamış isteklerini telafi etmekte nasıl kullandıklarını, aynı zamanda mizahı rezervasyon hayatını daha katlanılabilir kılmak için nasıl kullandıklarını açığa çıkarmak ve göstermektir.
Kızılderililerin beyazların baskısını yıkmak için çeşitli stratejilerle hayat mücadelesi vermesini göstermek amacıyla, ilk olarak rüyaların, görülerin, hayallerin ve mizahın hayatta kalma yöntemleri olarak önemini inceledim. Sonrasında, bahsi geçen hayatta kalma stratejilerinin Reservation Blues ve The Lone Ranger and Tonto
ABSTRACT Master Thesis
The Use of Humor, Dream Visions and Personal Recollections as Survival Strategies in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in
Heaven
Burcu ERTUĞRUL AKSU Dokuz Eylül University Institute of Social Sciences
Department of Western Languages and Literature American Culture and Literature Program
Different in worldviews, Europeans and American Indians have opposed each other since their early contacts. Their dealings with each other, which were based on trade at first, have transformed into a relationship in which American Indians are brutalized and exploited. American Indians have been exposed to both internal and external colonization and assimilation methods of Europeans. In response, they have reacted to avoid assimilation and colonization; they have mostly struggled to keep their tribal identity and values, and they have developed survival strategies embracing their tribal heritage. In this respect, Sherman Alexie’s two works Reservation Blues and The
Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven present American Indian characters who
have suffered from the oppression of whites, and their survival strategies that have become a part of their lives. The aim of this study is to reveal and demonstrate, by focusing on Alexie’s works, how American Indians use dream visions and imaginations, which are also essential parts of American Indian worldview, to compensate for their suppressed and unfulfilled wishes; in addition, how they use humor to make reservation life bearable.
With the purpose of representing American Indians’ struggle to subvert white-dominance with varying strategies, firstly, I analyze the significance of dreams, visions, imaginations and humor for American Indians as the means of surviving. Subsequently, I explore the reflections and evidences of these mentioned survival strategies in the works Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in
Heaven.
Key Words: 1) Survival Strategies 2) Dream Visions and Imaginations 3) American Indian Humor 4) Assimilation and Colonization 5) Tribal Traditions and Values
THE USE OF HUMOR, DREAM VISIONS AND PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS AS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN SHERMAN ALEXIE’S RESERVATION BLUES
AND THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN
YEMİN METNİ II TUTANAK III ÖZET IV ABSTRACT V İÇİNDEKİLER VI INTRODUCTION VIII
I. AMERICAN INDIAN SURVIVAL STRATEGIES 1
1.1. Dreams, Visions and Imagination as Survival Strategies 4 1.1.1. Importance of Dreams and Visions in Native Culture 6 1.1.2. Significance of Imagination as a Survival Strategy
1.2. Humor as a Survival Strategy 8
II. DREAMS, VISIONS AND IMAGINATIONS IN RESERVATION BLUES AND THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN 11 2.1. Dreams, Visions and Imaginations as Defense Mechanisms 13 2.1.1. Compensating For Loss and Failures in Dreams and
Imaginations 13
2.1.2. Satisfying the Feeling of Taking Revenge 17 2.2. Dreams, Visions and Imaginations about Worries, Fears and Despairs 18
2.2.1. Dreams, Visions and Recollections Reflecting Family
Problems 19
2.2.2. Dreams and Recollections about American Indian and
White Relations 24
2.2.2.1. Dreams and Imaginations about Fights between American Indians and Whites 25 2.2.2.2. American Indians’ Personal Recollections about
Whites 31
III) USAGE OF HUMOR IN RESERVATION BLUES AND THE LONE
RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN 40 3.1. Humor: Survival Strategy with the Healing Power 40 3.2. Humor: As an Essential Part of American Indian Worldview 45
CONCLUSION 52
BIBLIOGRAPHY 61
INTRODUCTION
Contemporary Native American literature written by American Indian writers in the English language flourished after the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. In 1969, the re-known American Indian N. Scott Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction with his novel House Made of Dawn, and opened the road to other Indian writers who wanted to produce works about their own culture and life. As a result, the 60s have been called the “renaissance” period of Native American writing (Rebein, 2001; 135). This literature has also been considered as a means of survival by the Indian audience for whom “working with words” is traditionally significant (Coltelli, 1990; 6).
Contemporary works of Native Americans are the products of a rich tribal heritage that carry not only the signs of oral tradition but also the strong effects of colonization. This has created a “multiethnic” (Coltelli, 1990; 4) literature full of unique aspects. The writers of the renaissance period have generally dealt with social themes such as alienation, cultural conflict, isolation, assimilation and alcoholism that have generated as a result of white colonization of Indian land, people and culture. Since most of these writers focus on modern Indians, they mostly reflect the effects of white colonization process in their works. Sherman Alexie, the Spokane/ Coeur d’Alene writer, is a member of this celebrated group. Especially by focusing on his own tribe, he touches closely upon contemporary Indian problems that have resulted due to the process of colonization and assimilation.
This colonization process can be analyzed in two categories: External colonization and internal colonization. External colonization involves the running of a country’s economy and government by an outside colonial power (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 35). External colonization of Indians is about European’s seizure of Indian land by acts and treaties through consent or force. Internal colonization can be defined as the condition and subordination of an ethnic group as a direct result of the actions of government. Marion Barrera claims that internal colonization is based on “an interactive structure of class and racial stratification that divides U.S. society” (quoted
in Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 36). In this sense, the present poor economic conditions of American Indians in both reservations and cities, their lack of education opportunities, their conversion to Christianity, their suffering from intentionally spread contagious diseases and their frequent alcohol abuse are some of the results of the internal colonization process.
Indian Removal Act is one of the most important official acts that have accelerated the appropriation of Indian lands. Andrew Jackson, a slaveholding president who was critical of treaty making, encouraged the subordination of Indians and signed the Indian Removal Act. After this act was passed in 1830, many Indian groups in the East migrated ‘voluntarily’ or at gun point to lands west of the Mississippi as a result of the ‘negotiated’ treaties (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 133). Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a further step of external colonization. Congress opened the non-settled lands for white settlement by passing this act. Later, this act brought about the Homestead Act of 1862 and white settlers encroached on Indian lands. In 1887 the Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act, paved the way for the gradual extinguishment of tribal ownership of lands, by allotting 160 acres of land to the head of families, 80 acres to single adults or orphans and 40 acres to dependent children (Hicks and Mowry, 1965; 94).
European colonists developed various strategies to gain dominance over Indian tribes. Because of the wide differences between tribal and white culture, assimilation of American Indians became a very problematic issue. In their book, American Cultural Studies, Campbell et al. state:
…the concept of assimilation asserted that all ethnic groups could be incorporated in a new American national identity, with specific shared beliefs and values, and that this would take preference over any previously held system of traditions. Assimilation stressed the denial of ethnic difference and forgetting of cultural practices in favour of Americanization which emphasized that one language should dominate as a guard against diverse groups falling outside the social concerns and ideological underpinnings of American society. Native Americans and African Americans, as well as immigrants from Europe and elsewhere, were seen as a threat
until they were brought within the acceptable definitions of ‘Americanness’ or excluded from it entirely. These versions of assimilation focused on conformity and homogeneity as the way of guaranteeing democracy and equality for all in America. In case of Native Americans, the differences between tribal and white culture appeared too great for a satisfactory assimilation and reservation system was employed instead (Campbell and Kean, 1997; 44).
The aim of reservation policy was presented as educating and ‘civilizing’ Native Americans systematically. Indians’ strong beliefs in “communal lands, tribalism, sacredness of the earth, and being suspicious of private property”(Campbell and Kean, 1997; 47) were too strong to cope with They were to be kept and controlled in reservations where the soil was not suitable for agriculture and life qualities were too poor.
The Spokane was one of the tribes that were persuaded (through so-called negotiations) to move from their original homelands to the designated lands. Today this land is located in eastern Washington, including small parcels of land in Stevens County and part of the Spokane River (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 178). When the council gathered in 1877, Spokane Garry announced that he wished to stay where he was and the other members of the tribe were also reluctant to leave their land. However, U.S. Indian Inspector Colonel E. C. Watkins explained that only by signing the agreement which declared they had accepted to move to the designated area (which included part of their homeland) that they could be citizens and could get title to the lands they had occupied. Shortly after the Watkins council, lower Spokane chief William Three Mountains persuaded some Spokane families about the advantages of this immigration. Spokanes’ move to the land that was promised for them began in spite of upper Spokane Chief Garry’s strong opposition (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 168-169). The only positive result of this was to remain in peace with the government (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 171). Nevertheless, due to the intense immigration to Spokane county, white population increased and this resulted in Indian-white conflict (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 173). The new settlers began to encroach upon the Indians and the Spokane Reservation was established by Rutherford B. Hayes in 1881 (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 178).
When Spokane Reservation was established, it was considered as “the most worthless and barren” land. In fact, the Spokanes wondered why the reservation was not established where they already lived (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 179). When Dawes Act was passed in 1887, each Native American was given a share of the reservation land and Indians’ understanding of communal ownership, being cooperative and non-competitive got a severe blow (Parillo, 2003; 253). This “historical catastrophe” for American Indians was designed to end traditional ways of life by the way of breaking communal tribal lands into individual allotments (Owens, 1992; 30)
In 1887, another significant agreement was signed by the Spokanes. According to that agreement, the Spokanes deeded to the United States “all right, title, and claim which they had, or ever would have, to any and all lands lying outside the reservation” (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 192). They got some assistance about protection and agricultural implement and ninety-five thousand dollars in return of their removal to the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. Secretary of Interior made land allotments to Indians of the Spokane Reservation (Ruby and Brown, 2006; 192). As a result, many members of the Spokane were deprived of their homeland and low standard of reservation living started for them. By 1969 the normal expectation on the reservation was that nothing could be actualized without the permission of the government (Campbell and Kean, 1997; 50)
Examining the implement and the results of the mentioned acts clarifies how the external colonization occurred gradually. That is the legal aspect of colonization. Equally important is the internal colonization process. Beside the fact that Indians were driven off their lands, and their subordination and exploitation were supported by the government, their tribal cultures, languages and their collectivities were devastated by national cultural policies that favored assimilation. Internal colonization strategies have been implemented in two ways: One way is to put American Indians into reservations and limit their life space and opportunities; the other is to try to integrate them into the existent culture of America by means of education of Boarding Schools, imposing Christianity with missionaries etc… That is
to say, internal colonization is mostly about the tribal people’s suppressed place in the modern world.
Education has been one of the most influential ways used to assimilate Indians. Indian children were isolated from their families and sent to white-dominated and white-controlled Boarding Schools. These schools were run according to “Anglo-conformity assimilationist approach” (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 151). Indian spiritual values were destroyed by the racist white teachers and administrators who tried to make their students “less Indian”. Indian students were punished for speaking their tribal language (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 151). They were stripped of their long hair and traditional clothes. Shortly after the Indian students arrival, Indian students’ traditional clothing, such as buckskin or threadbare trade blankets, was exchanged for the standard school uniform (Adams, 1997; 103). Because of being seen as a symbol of “savagery,” their long braided hair was cut short (Adams, 1997; 102). The haircutting policy in Boarding School was especially traumatic for Indian children. On the one hand, long hair was a significant symbol of their traditional style; on the other hand, hair cut was a sign of sadness or shame for Indians (Cooper, 1999; 34). Under the great acculturation pressures, they had to behave in European ways which damaged their self-integrity and created great stress. Moreover, some even committed suicide because of being caught between native culture and Anglo pressures (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 156).
Indians have always been subordinated in their contact with the European colonizers, especially in the field of education. Pariyaram Chacko states:
They are made to think that they are inferior in matters of their own lifestyle, customs, and folklore. Myths have been nurtured that tribal social formations are archaic hangovers, remnants of a bygone era, unchanging entities paralyzed by custom and thus their ways of life should be raised to the advanced cultural life enjoyed by the ‘national society’. In order to maintain national integration, their identities must be replaced by loyalty to the ‘national mainstream’ or at least made compatible with national interest (Chacko, 2005; 42).
Assimilation process has also been carried out in the case of religion. European colonizers attempted to convert Indians to Christianity. Missionaries were sent to the reservations to spread Christianity among Indians. The aim of the missionaries was not only to Christianize the Indians but also to suppress indigenous spirituality (www.religiousmovements.virginia.lib.edu). As a result of strict missionary attempts, many Indians became Christians although they were not strong believers. In addition, reservations were divided up among the Christian denominations (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 152). However, as explained in the book Racial and Ethnic Relations,
In contrast to Christianity, most traditional religious beliefs and practices of Native Americans are not exclusive; a person can be a Christian and a traditional believer. Because of this, a great variety of traditional and Christian practices now coexist among Indians (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 153).
Internal colonization of Indians was not only caused by the destruction of tribal identity and traditional values. Epidemics were also an important factor. European colonizers who were determined to defeat Indians used epidemics as influential weapons. Smallpox, syphilis, influenza, measles and some other contagious diseases were intentionally introduced by the European colonizer to exterminate the American Indian who did not have any immunity to such diseases. This caused the rapid decline of Native populations in a short period of time.
Another serious social problem contributing to the assimilation process of Indians is alcohol abuse. High mortality rate, high terminal liver cirrhosis rate, as well as high crime and suicide rates is all due to consumption of alcohol. Moreover, rates related to use of alcohol among Indians are highly over national average. The reasons of drinking problem of Indians are generally connected with their “cultural marginality” (Parillo, 2003; 260). Indians try to maintain their tribal identity and cultural heritage while they want to be successful in the world of work and gain an approved mainstream life style. However, they are neither accepted as the equal members of the white society nor can they preserve their cultural heritage and tribal spirit properly. This conflict can be seen as the reason of the alcohol abuse among
Indians. In other words, Indians easily turn to alcohol in order not to feel the devastating effects of losing their identity.
However, Indians did not know about alcohol before the Europeans came to their land. Knowing that alcohol would have very negative effects on Indians’ thoughts and reasoning, European fur traders, explorers, and visitors intentionally introduced alcohol to the Indian tribes. Alcohol was presented as a so-called civilizing implement and became a part of trading events. Their aim was to be lucrative in their trading and other dealings with the Indians. Ed Mcqaa deals with the issue of alcoholism among Indians from Indians’ traditional view and asserts:
Native Americans had no alcohol before the white man came to these shores. For centuries upon centuries, there was no poisoning of man’s brain in this land. Our leaders were honest and truthful; like the land, their minds were unpolluted. I have said many times that the Indians took their examples and signs from God-created nature. Animals and winged ones do not consume foreign substances that the Great Spirit did not intend for them. If it is not natural or does not grow here, it is not to be used (Mcqaa, 1990; 189-190).
Alcohol was first used to remove American Indian people from their lands and instill western values. Alcohol addiction still continues to be one of the greatest problems of American Indian life. Although alcohol has not been the only reason for loss of traditional culture, it has altered Indian existence and way of life negatively.
American Indians, often stereotyped by whites as culturally or intellectually inferior, have long suffered from and still face exploitation and discrimination in economic, political, religious, and educational spheres. According to government statistics on income, employment, and housing, American Indians are “the poorest of the poor” of all the minorities in the United States (Parillo, 2003; 256). Today, unemployment is a serious problem and life expectancy is quite low among American Indians. Violence, suicide, crime, substance abuse, and sexual abuse as a result of cultural degeneration, are the major problems nowadays, which did not occur in traditional societies.
Works of Contemporary Native American literature reflect American Indian experiences and sufferings; their being exposed to extermination and acculturation, and their survival strategies. Diana Glancy, in her essay The Fire Dragon and Sweat defines American Indians as “a diverse collection of those-who-were-here-when-the-others-came,” and contemporary Native American literature as “stories of resilience, defiance, power, vision, toughness, pain, loss, anger, sarcasm, a humiliation built on welfare, a humor built on irony” (1991; 13-14).
In his works, Sherman Alexie points out how colonization process has changed Indian destiny and how white policies have contributed to the different levels of acculturation and cultural assimilation that have occurred among American Indians. He confronts these serious issues facing current Indian community with his own subtle sense of humor. His ability to remain humorous while discussing the impacts of cultural assimilation such as suicide, alcoholism, rape, racism and oppression is fairly impressive; such a style portrays American Indians’ sense of humor as a part of their worldview that enables them to resist white man’s atrocities. While humor and imaginative power are represented as the survival strategy of Indians, dream visions and personal memories reflect Indians’ weaknesses and problems due to white men’s colonization. Despite all external and internal threats to their lives and dreams, American Indian peoples’ continuance and survival through time becomes particularly important. Jace Weaver comments on this issue by referring to Edward Said’s theory:
Native survival in the face of internal colonialism and the revitalization of Native traditions attests to the truth of Said’s repeated theme that there is always something beyond the reach of dominating systems, no matter how totally they saturate society, and that it is part of the oppressed that the oppressor cannot touch that makes change possible: in “every situation, no matter how dominated it is, there’s always an alternative” (Weaver, 1997; 11-12).
This study will examine Sherman Alexie’s usage of humor, dream visions, imaginations and personal recollections as survival strategies by focusing on his short
story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993) and novel Reservation Blues (1995). These mentioned elements are, indeed, what Edward Said indicates as American Indian “alternatives” --new creative ways of cultural continuity and recovery.
Both works are generally set in and around the Spokane Reservation. Alexie, in both works, uses the same main characters: Thomas Builds-the Fire, Victor Joseph and Junior Polatkin. Thomas Builds-the Fire is portrayed as the misfit storyteller of the Spokane Tribe, whom nobody listens to, nevertheless, he still maintains and preserves the tribal values and traditions. Victor Joseph is an alcoholic who is an angry and thoughtless character. Being abandoned by his father and raped by a reservation priest, his childhood has been very problematic. Thus, he lacks a sense of belonging to his environment and is very skeptical about his Indian heritage as well as his present condition. He is the brave warrior with no battles to fight. He says to his father: “My great-grandfather had World War I, my grandfather had World War II, you had Vietnam. All I have is video games” (Alexie, 2005; 28). Junior Polatkin, who was named after a Spokane chief from 19th century, drives the reservation water truck. He is the drunken companion of Victor and Thomas. He commits suicide at the end of Reservation Blues, because, he, as an American Indian, does not want to experience great disappointments and to be drunk anymore.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is the collection of humorous and poignant short stories that are set in the Spokane Reservation. All stories are interlinked and contain repeating characters and events describing hopelessness of reservation life. The stories reveal the contemporary life of American Indians through personal triumphs and failures, father-son relationships, dysfunctional families, and identity issues. Cultural marginality of reservation life, alienation and self destruction of American Indians are depicted in dream sequences and comic tones. Imagination and laughter lead to forgiveness, and this helps the characters transcend pain, anger and loss.
Alexie’s novel Reservation Blues embraces similar issues with The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The novel demonstrates what it means to be Indian living under the poor conditions of reservation life. Poverty, malnutrition, hopelessness and various forms of self-destruction are elucidated in a humorous tone again. Dreams, imagination, personal memories and humor have a significant role in the narration. The novel is set on an imaginary idea: What happens if the legendary blues star Robert Johnson, who actually died in 1938, appears on the Spokane reservation in 1992? The significance of the Robert Johnson character is worthy to note; and this is emphasized in one of the short stories from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: “The first time I heard Robert Johnson sing I knew he understood what it meant to be Indian on the edge of the twentieth century, even if he was black at the beginning of the twentieth” (Alexie, 2005; 35). Alexie emphasizes the “shared political, social and artistic sensibilities of black and Indian peoples” by using a black blues star figure (Pasquaretta, 2003; 287).
Thomas Builds-the-Fire meets Robert Johnson, who, like Faust, has sold his spirit to the devil, named Gentleman, in order to play the guitar better than anyone else in the world, and has come to the Spokane Reservation to find the woman in his dreams who has a healing power to free him from the evil pact. Thomas takes him to Big Mom, the medicine woman of the reservation, and then he realizes that Robert Johnson has left his magical guitar. Robert Johnson’s leaving his guitar to Thomas is indeed a symbolic exchange from African American community to American Indian community; American Indians’ present-life conditions mirror African Americans’ second-rate and unfortunate lives under white-dominance in the early twentieth century (Grassian, 2003; 107). Thomas gets the guitar and forms the all-Indian rock group Coyote Springs. He becomes the lead singer and composes most of the songs that the band sings. Victor inherits Robert Johnson’s magical guitar and shows an unbelievable ability. Junior plays drum. Two beautiful sisters, Chess and Checkers Warm Waters join the band after a concert in Flathead Reservation. They are of Flathead tribe and both have very beautiful voices. Although they are not accepted by the Spokane people due to the fact that they are Spokane Indians, they become the band members. The band’s journey from Seattle to Manhattan and back again is told
with powerful references to survival, traditions and spirituality. The issues of cultural identity, Indian-White relations, and the power of the human spirit to survive are questioned and explicated in the novel.
Sherman Alexie deals with the issues and problems of the current Indians and examines the ways in which reservation Indians support each other in the face of colonized Native America by way of depicting different characters such as Thomas, Victor and Junior, who represent the various faces of cultural identity. Alexie is one of the distinctive voices who reject the stereotypes of American Indian identity, recognizing the significance of the diverse culture and languages of Indians, understanding the strong communal ties despite this diversity and being aware of the basic humanity of the American Indians (Lundquist, 2004; 201).
Both The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and Reservation Blues are prize-winning works. Reservation Blues has been awarded Shortlist for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (1997), Before Columbus Foundation: American Book Award (1996), and Murray Morgan Prize (1996). The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven has won PEN/Hemingway Award: Best First Book of Fiction Citation Winner (1993), Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award (1994), and Washington State Governor's Writers Award (1994).
I) AMERICAN INDIAN SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
The idea of building a new nation, “one homogeneous American community”, by integrating all ethnic groups constructed the concept of assimilation of ethnic groups is the underlying principle behind Americanization (Campbell and Kean, 1997; 44). Assimilation and colonization of American Indians are parts of this policy. Their sense of community, strong ties to tribal values and cultural identity have been attacked in various ways As Feagin and Feagin state:
European colonists developed various strategies for dealing with those whose land they coveted. These ranged from honest treaty making with equals, to deceptive teary making, to attempts at extermination, to enslavement like that of Africans, to confinement in the often barren, prison-like called reservations (Feagin and Feagin, 2003; 133).
As a response to assimilation and colonization process, American Indians have developed survival strategies. They have resisted ideologically and have aimed to reconstitute their community and values in spite of all the pressures and oppressions of the white colonial system (Campbell and Kean, 1997; 48). As Campbell et. al. postulate in their book:
Native Americans faced near genocide in the face of ‘nation-building’, but have survived to rearticulate and promote their cultures within the United States. Although always uneasy and ambivalent position, their ethnic identity has not been made invisible and their culture and history still inform each generation (Campbell and Kean, 1997; 48).
To overcome their sufferings as a result of annihilation, genocide, isolation and broken treaties, American Indians have adopted survival strategies. While some American Indian tribes have advocated cultural adaptation and renewal, others have preferred to sustain strong ties to their tribal past and rejected an imposed American identity. Thus, assimilation methods perpetuated by federal government have created American Indian groups who differ in their levels of assimilation and acculturation. Differing reactions among American Indian tribes have contributed to different
standpoints and different levels of commitment. Michael Garret’s and Eugene Pichette’s five-levels of acculturation best depict the various differences among American Indian tribes:
Traditional: May or may not speak English, but generally speak and in their native language; hold only traditional values and beliefs and practice only traditional tribal customs and methods of worship.
Marginal: May speak both the native language and English; may not, however, fully accept the cultural heritage and practices of their tribal group; not fully identify with mainstream cultural values and behaviors.
Bicultural: generally accepted by dominant society and tribal society/nation; simultaneously able to know, accept, and practice both mainstream values/behaviors and traditional values and beliefs of their cultural heritage.
Assimilated: Accepted by dominant society; embrace
only mainstream cultural values, behaviors, and
expectations.
Traditional: Assimilated Native Americans who have made conscious choice to return to the “old ways”. They are generally accepted by dominant society but seek to embrace previously lost traditional values, beliefs, and practices of their tribal heritage. Therefore, they may speak both English and their native tribal language. (quoted in Parillo; 2003, 281)
It is interesting that Garret and Pichette use the term ‘traditional’ to describe not only the elder generation of Indians who have stuck to their native language and way of life but also to the young assimilated generation who consciously seek to enliven their tribal heritage. Based on these definitions, Sherman Alexie’s main characters Thomas Builds-the Fire, Victor and Junior exemplify different groups of American Indians who have been caught between two cultures and who stand at different points of adopting Indian heritage and embracing Indian identity.
As a visionary and compulsive storyteller who is ignored by most of the people on the reservation, Thomas Builds-the-Fire is a new generation traditional figure. Victor and Junior are marginal figures who challenge their Indian heritage. Their dialogue while they are naming the rock band gives an idea about their ethnic identity:
‘We need a name for this band,’ Thomas said after another well-attended rehearsal.
‘How about Bloodthirsty Savages?’ Victor asked. ‘That’s a cool name, enit?’ Junior asked.
‘I was thinking about Coyote Springs,’ Thomas said. ‘That’s too damn Indian,’ Junior said. ‘It’s always Coyote this, Coyote that. I’m sick of Coyote.’
‘Fuck Coyote,’ Victor said (Alexie, 1995; 44-45).
Victor’s suggestion “Bloodthirsty Savages” is a popular misconception about American Indians. Europeans have regarded this as a suitable name for the American Indians because of their so-called warlike attitudes and their belief in retributive justice. Europeans have firmly believed in the image of the American Indian as barbarous scalping savages. However, American Indians have always avoided conflicts where possible (Parillo, 2003; 246). In this sense, Victor and Junior do not care about the white attitudes toward American Indian and mock at the white perspective. Thomas, on the other hand, holds tightly on his Indian heritage, and wants to name the band after the respected Indian figure “Coyote”. No matter what their levels of acculturation are, American Indians who are able to integrate American Indian sense of humor and imagination to their daily lives are able to resist white colonization.
Afterward, the band is named “Coyote Springs”, since right after Victor and Junior rejects this traditional name, lightning falls on the reservation, a small fire starts, Junior’s track is lost and Coyote proves his strength in this way (Alexie, 1995; 45). Thus, Alexie wants to promote Indian heritage and prove the survival of Indian traditions. He focuses not only the tragedy caused by assimilation and colonization but also on the survival and means of survival that are tribal and specific (Hafen; 1997, 74). Humor and imagination are survival ways unique to American Indians. They have improved their capacity to survive by imagining and laughing. In Alexie’s works, sardonic and sarcastic humor overcomes tragedy, and imagination is portrayed as one part of the equation for survival (McFarland, 1997; 38).
1.1.Dreams, Visions and Imagination as Survival Strategies
American Indians observe acts of dreaming, daydreaming, and imagining as the possible sources to use in order to solve their problems in postcolonial context (Fixico, 2003; 9). They try to manage and cope with the unexpected problems they have due to being exposed to colonization and assimilation in their own ways, which are not contradicting with their tradition and tribal identity. Donald Lee Fixico’s comment on American Indians’ understanding of mental acts such as dreaming, day-dreaming and imagining clarifies the reason why they have adopted these acts as their survival strategies in the face of evil methods of the Whites:
An Indian way of “seeing” exists, according to a native perspective about all things. It is a cooperative effort between the subconscious and conscious mind and influenced by one’s tribal culture and personal experiences. As a result, dreams, daydreaming, imagining, and visions are pertinent to “Indian thinking” and this realization becomes a part of logic and decision-making process of thought. In every dream and vision are clues of knowledge and/or revelations about what all people seek to understand. Although the conscious mind is the rational part of thinking, native people have learned to consider carefully what the subconscious part of the brain has to offer. “Seeing” in the Indian way is how traditionalists of indigenous cultures understand life, and it is the basis of their indigenous logic (Fixico, 2003; 9).
1.1.1. Importance of Dreams and Visions in Native Culture
In American Indian culture, dreams have always been highly regarded and respected as a means of obtaining sacred wisdom and guidance in life. Dreams and visions are among the core values of American Indian philosophy. John A. Sanford call such cultures as of American Indians as “dream cultures” “in which dreams are at the center of a deeply spiritual way of life” (Sanford, 1978; 6). Stanford presents American Indian culture as a good example of “dream cultures” and says:
Dreams, said Chief Seattle, are given men “in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit.” The soul, it was believed by
the Red Man, is an individual expression of the Great Spirit, but the soul would wander in darkness unless it received a guiding light. Fortunately, visions and dreams would come from the Great Spirit to guide the soul. Without such guidance man’s lower nature, which inclines to ignorance, cruelty, and apathy, would prevail. But the soul enlightened by dreams can achieve the nobility for which man was created; he can move forward and reach the source of all learning, which is the knowledge of God, for, as the Nez Perce Indian prophet Smohalla said, “Wisdom comes to us in dreams” (Stanford, ; 6)
Dreams, encouraged and facilitated, are regarded as a natural means for accessing knowledge and establishing relationship to the world (Cajete, 2004; 54). Jackson Steward Lincoln divides the American Indian dreams and visions into two categories: ‘individual dreams’, “the unsought, or spontaneous dreams occurring in sleep”, and ‘culture pattern dreams’, sought or induced dreams of special tribal significance (Lincoln, 2004; 22). Differently from modern interpretations based on psychoanalysts’ suggestions, dreams have symbolized and meant more than unfulfilled and unconscious desires for American Indians. American Indian culture values dreams as a source of insight and inspiration. Dreams have been considered as sacred forms of reality directing life and revealing potential for special skills and abilities (Pritzker, 2000; 41). Interpreting and analyzing dreams have been a central part of many American Indian healing ceremonies, the act of discovering the source of fears and taking decisions for future actions (Shimer, 2004; 23).
What we call ‘dream therapy’ today has already been used by American Indians as a way of getting to the source of pessimistic beliefs in order to be able to analyze and eliminate them (Shimer, 2004; 23). When their lives have changed as a result of white policies and colonization, American Indians have continued to look for a way to remedy their colonial life troubles in their dreams as well.
Popularity of dream catchers, traditional handicrafts originated in American Indian tribes, also illustrates the importance of dreams in American Indian daily life. Dream catchers function as the symbolic filters that trap the nightmares and let the
good dreams pass. They demonstrate American Indians’ fascination and wonder about dreaming.
Dream sequences in Alexie’s works have significant roles in the narration. His usage of dreams mostly reflects various tragedies of American Indians facing assimilation and acculturation processes. In addition, dreams occasionally function as out-lets that relieve American Indians from the losses and pains of contemporary life. In Alexie’s works, they turn defeats into victories. On one hand, the importance and power of dreams in American Indian cultural life is emphasized and on the other hand, they reveal the characters’ conscious or unconscious desires, unfulfilled expectations, fears, hopes and hopelessness.
1.1.2. Significance of Imagination as a Survival Strategy
We have to believe in the power of imagination
Because it’s all we have, and ours is stronger than theirs. Lawrence Thornton
The act of imagining, in the tribal context, offers the possibility of freedom from non-Native traditions and makes decolonization possible (Cox, 2006; 144). It is important to note that American Indians are highly imaginative individuals, and imagination, which is a significant part of American Indian worldview, enables them to grasp a holistic perception of life. Strong and positive connection to nature, strong sense of community, sense of the sacred and sense of beauty are the distinguishing aspects of American Indian worldview; and “in their imaginings they tend to see themselves as living in a good way, in a strong community, with an aesthetic and spirituality inspired by nature as a good and beautiful force” (Magoulick, 2003). In other words, they put the principles of their worldview into practice in their imaginings; certain values that American Indian worldview centered around arise in their imaginative power.
American Indians adopt imagining as their survival strategy and they regard it as a coping skill that strengthens the individual’s capacity for surviving. The role of
imagination in their worldview is significant. However, of even greater importance are their great suffering and real pain, due to forced assimilation, which only can be escaped by the use of imagination. In this sense, for American Indians, imagination is a strategy of survival in order to maintain their sense of community, as well as a way of minimizing their suffering. N. Scott Momaday’s commentary on the imaginative power emphasizes its importance for American Indians: “We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are. The greatest tragedy
that can befall us is to go unimagined” (quoted in Owens, 1992; 93).
In Alexie’s works, characters imagine frequently and habitually. By way of day-dreaming, they fulfill their life-expectations or they remember their tribal past or personal recollections. Sherman Alexie himself is widely quoted for his “survival formula” from his short story Imagining the Reservation in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which makes his view clear about the power of imagination: “Survival = Anger x Imagination. Imagination is the only power on the reservation” (Alexie, 2005; 150). Readers come across similar formulas not only in his short stories but also in his various poems. James H. Cox analyzes Alexie’s usage of imagination in his book Muting White Noise:
Alexie suggests that imagining alternatives to narratives of domination and conquest (Columbus’s voyage; the manifest Destiny conferred by the Christian God on Euro-westerners) is a powerful weapon. Imagining alternative histories might not change the present (impoverished urban Native communities; Lester FallsApart’s crimes), but conceiving of other possibilities, or writing Natives back into the landscape, will influence the future by promising plots that do not assure listeners or readers of the inevitable absence of native Americans. As Alexie explains, imagination, fueled by anger at the colonial past and present, is the formula for Native survival (Cox, 2006; 158)
What Alexie means by this formula is that:
American Indians have to be emotionally and psychologically resourceful to keep their sense of humor and
their traditions alive in conditions hostile to their existence. Much of the imagination in his stories comes in the form of dark humor, a response to desperate straits in which many of his characters find themselves. Alexie himself demonstrates imagination and resourcefulness in the very way he has constructed the book as a kind of fictional memoir of his own life on the reservation (Bookrags, 2005).
Obviously it is clear that, imaginative power of American Indians has significantly contributed to their communities’ survival in the face of evil whites. Also, imagination and humor coexist within each other.
1.2. Humor as a Survival Strategy
It has always been a great disappointment to Indian people that the humorous side of Indian life has not been emphasized by professed experts…
Indians have found a humorous side to nearly every problem and the experiences of life have generally been so well defined through jokes and stories that they have become a thing in themselves… The more desperate the problem, the more humor is directed to describe it. (Vine Deloriea, Jr., “Custer for Your Sins: An Indian manifesto”)
Humor functions as a key virtue in American Indian culture. American Indians have always been able to approach life with a sense of humor. Especially, after being exposed to long term discrimination and oppression by whites, humor has had more social and cultural meanings for them. Jace Weaver states that “Indices of Native identity have always been located in humor. Although it usually has been overlooked, traditional orature contains strong elements of humor. Since 1492, especially, it has also become a powerful tool of survival” (Weaver, 1997; 88). Humor has been a powerful medicine challenging fate, nourishing human spirit, giving strength and hope for survival (Gregory, 1998). As described by Wendy J. Rohrbacher, American Indian humor serves as “not only a weapon to fight conquest and assimilation, but also as a guide for framing a worldview” (Rohrbacher, 1999).
Considering the social functions, Kenneth Lincoln describes American Indian humor as “survival humor” that “transcends the void, questions fatalism, and outlasts
suffering” (Lincoln, 1993; 45). American Indians have used “survival humor” to subvert white colonization ways and their dominance in the society. Margaret Atwood states that “Humor is more than a mere tool but becomes an effective subversive weapon, when used by people who find themselves in a tight place without other, more physical weapons” (quoted in Hirch, 2000; 107). Another function of humor for American Indians is that it creates social harmony within communities. This harmony helps to defuse and sublimate tension and negativity. In this way, humor allows tolerance and teaches social values (Fagan, 2000; 25).
Obviously it is clear that humor is one of the most important abilities and values that American Indians have in the matter of survival. It is an intrinsic quality of American Indians. James Luna, Luiseno Indian performance artist, explains the role of humor in American Indian culture as “a form of knowledge, critical thought, and perhaps used just to ease pain” (quoted in Birringer, 2000; 179). Drew Hayder Taylor, as an American Indian himself, comments on the issue: “Even in the darkest moments there were always sparks of humor. That’s how we survived 500 years of oppression. It was our humor that kept us sane. That does not mean that I am using humor to whitewash the problems of native communities. You can have humor and explore serious issues” (quoted in Hirch, 2000; 104-105).
Native humor is difficult to define because of tribal diversity. All tribes have different ways of observing reality and expressing their perceptions. Differing perceptions and various tribal languages affect the expressing and understanding of humor. Mirjam Hirch explains the tribal differences about “understanding humor” in her article “Subversive Humor: Canadian Native Playwrights’ Winning Weapon of Resistance” and affirms the fact that Iroquois and Haida are known for aggressive humor while Cree and Anishinabe humor is depicted as sly. However, “strong tradition of teasing” and “the self-deprecatory joke at one’s own expense” are the general themes in American Indian humor (Hirch, 2000; 106).
As an important aspect of American Indian culture, humor has had a significant role in literary traditions and has gained even more importance in the
ongoing American Indian literary renaissance. According to the American Indian authors, “to free others to hope for the impossible” has been the most deeply healing function of humor (Hirch, 2000; 114). These authors use humor “to ridicule fate and transcend sorrow” (Gregory, 1998). Mirjam Hirch says:
Contemporary Native authors skillfully employ
subversive humor as an artistic strategy both to heal from and to understand historical and personal trauma and to fight the adversity they face. Humor is a means of drawing attention to a range of serious issues, from the perpetuation of stereotypes to land claims, residential schools, forced integration, foster parenthood, benighted government policy, environmental destruction and attempted annihilation. With the help of the strong forces of humor, native writers challenge given power systems, lay open the relativity of all positions, subvert the process of domination, inspire social change and promote a new consciousness (Hirch, 2000; 104).
American Indian writers regard and present humor “as offering a sense of relief and acceptance of circumstance in the face of danger and tragedy” (Fagan, 2000; 26). Sherman Alexie is one of these writers. His dark humor makes the pain and anger bearable in his works. Alexie is a thought-provoking writer and humor is one of his hallmarks. Georgia Bapst directs Alexie’s commentary on humor:
Humor was abundant on the reservation where he grew up, he says. He turned to humor because he was different and got beat up a lot. "You can't run as fast or throw a punch if you're laughing," he said.
And the more traditional the person on the reservation, the funnier they were, he says. "My grandmother was hilarious. My whole family was funny. I was the least funny. My family thought I was depressed and angry." (Bapst, 2002).
As a significant cultural value of American Indians, humor alleviates their emotional pain and helps them to tolerate the unfair treatment and impoverished living-conditions. Humor and imagining, one inside the other, are the essential facts which make American Indian culture viable.
II) DREAMS, VISIONS AND IMAGINATION IN RESERVATION BLUES AND THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN
The relationship between the real and imaginary, and the real and visionary are the essential themes in Alexie’s works. In his works, the functions and roles of dream visions and imaginations vary. Alexie surveys the dream visions, whose traditional significance and meanings have changed for American Indians after white colonization and settlement of the New World. Also, he explores the ways in which American Indians use their imagination to struggle against their culturally and physically impoverished lives on the reservation. The characters can have dream visions and imaginations either to fulfill their expectations, to compensate for their loss and failures, or to conceal their conflicts. In addition, they use only dream visions, in traditional terms, as guidelines for making important decisions. Readers come across various acts of dreaming and imagining throughout both Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
The importance of dream visions for American Indians is highlighted through the character Junior, the college drop-out who is in his early 30s in Reservation Blues. In a humorous way, Junior points the importance of dream visions by connecting dreams to western psychoanalytic thinking: “He had majored in psychology during his brief time in college and learned a lot about dreams. In Psychology 101, Junior had learned from Freud and Jung that dreams decide everything. He figured that Freud and Jung must have been reservation Indians, because dreams decided everything for Indians, too” (Alexie, 1995; 18). Moreover, dreams also have prophetic and guiding functions that relate them to a more tribal understanding of the world:
Junior based all of his decisions on his dreams and visions, which created a lot of problems. When awake, he could never stomach the peanut butter and onion sandwiches that tasted so great in his dreams, but Junior always expected his visions to come true. Indians were supposed to have visions and receive messages from his dreams. All the Indians on television had visions told them exactly what to do (Alexie, 1995; 18).
When Coyote Springs gets an offer to play in Ellensburg, Seattle, for one thousand dollars, they feel suspicious and cannot make decision easily at first. Believing in the traditional guiding power of dreams, Chess suggests: “I think we all need to sleep on this” (Alexie, 1995; 125).
The importance of the imagining process and its power for American Indians is strongly emphasized in the short story “Imagine the Reservation” in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Imagining is presented as a process to challenge and question reality. The narrator in this story provokes the reader to think what could have happened if American history was re-written by the way of asking questions: “Imagine Crazy Horse invented the atom bomb in 1876 and detonated it over Washington, D.C. Would the urban Indians still be sprawled around the one-room apartment in the cable television reservation?” (Alexie, 2005; 152). “Imagine Columbus landed in 1492 and some tribe or another drowned him in the ocean” (152). The narrator also questions the imposed ‘realities’ which have affected and changed the whole lives of people concerning issues of religious and faith, by asking striking questions such as: “Didn’t you know Jesus Christ was a Spokane Indian?” (Alexie, 2005; 149). Besides these challenging statements and thought-provoking questions, imagining is also offered as a means that contributes to “survivance”, Gerald Vizenor’s term to describe “survival and endurance” (Lundquist, 2004; 309) of American Indians. In the very same story, the narrator states: “There are so many possibilities in the reservation 7-11, so many methods of survival” (Alexie, 2005; 152). Imagining is one of the most efficient of these methods. The narrator suggests that one should be strong in the face of hardships by imagining: “Didn’t you know? Imagination is the politics of dreams; imagination turns every word into a bottle rocket” (Alexie, 2005; 152). Imaginative power is a remedy for American Indians when they feel hopeless and helpless: “Imagine that your own shadow on the wall is a perfect door. Imagine a song stronger than penicillin. Imagine a spring with water that mends broken bones” (Alexie, 2005; 152-153).
The imaginative power and functions of dreams and visions are significant parts of American Indian wisdom since they offer a holistic perception of the world.
These elements have already been important for American Indians in traditional terms, however, their imagining ability and their strong belief in dreams have gained even more importance in the contemporary life due to the fact that these parts of their wisdom have made them stronger against European colonization methods, have given them the power to cope with the unfair treatment and to survive under poor and inferior circumstances.
2.1. Dreams, Visions and Imaginations as Defense Mechanisms
Disappointments and defeats in life activate people’s defense mechanisms. Defense mechanism, the theory which has firstly been developed by Sigmund Freud and later clarified and conceptualized by his daughter Anna Freud, can be regarded as mental maneuvers to maintain psychological equilibrium. People develop ways and employ some coping strategies to protect themselves, their sense of self and their self-esteem (Cramer, 2006; 3). In Sherman Alexie’s works, various dream sequences and visions are presented as significant coping and surviving processes for characters. Characters dream, day-dream and imagine in order to avoid painful reality, compensate for their loss and failures and alleviate their feelings of taking revenge.
2.1.1. Compensating For Loss and Failures in Dreams, Visions and Imaginations
As the outcomes of defense mechanism, dreams, visions and imaginations are devices which American Indians use to rationalize, deny or divert some realities which are difficult to accept. The characters in Alexie’s works frequently dream and imagine intentionally or unconsciously. These dreams and imaginations keep them sane and protective.
Alcoholism, for example, is one of the problems that reservation Indians have to struggle against. Young people on the reservation are accustomed to drunken fathers although this makes them miserable. Thomas, Victor and Junior are so accustomed to a drunken father passing out that they immediately ask each other “Is it your dad or my dad?” when they see a man who has passed out on the lawn (Alexie,
1995; 95). Then, they discover that he is Thomas’s father Samuel Builds-the Fire, who always passes out and has even gained a reputation in the reservation as “Drunk and Disorderly” due to his all-time drunken condition (Alexie, 1995, 95). These young men know that they probably will be sharing a similar fate with Samuel Builds-the-Fire. As helpless and hopeless as their fathers, they just ignore and sleep in order to cope with the situation: “Decorated veterans of that war between fathers and sons, Junior and Victor knew the best defense was sleep” (Alexie, 1995; 96). “Those two found it was easier to just sleep, rather than wake up and face the day” (Alexie, 1995; 260). They employ sleeping as their unique coping and survival strategy. Thomas and Chess, on the other hand, as helpless as the others, are aware of the massive destruction that alcoholism has brought upon them: “‘Drinking that will kill them’ ‘I think that is the idea’” (Alexie, 1995; 100). Moreover, Thomas says that he hates his father. The reason of this ‘hatred’ is that he knows that his father regards alcohol as a way of self-destruction. Rather than resisting and struggling against broken-down economic and spiritual conditions, Samuel Builds-the-Fire’s weakness and drinking causes Thomas to hate his father.
In the short story “A Drug Called Tradition” from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven; Victor, Junior and Thomas take a new drug and share their visions with each other. This effective drug, which has been supplied by Victor, causes them to have visions of “a better world” (Alexie, 2005; 14). They take the drug to avoid their poor life-conditions and to replace them with the imaginative ones just for a while. What they actually need is a temporary relief. However, the visions they have after the drug, which reflect their subconscious, include messages that relate to American Indians’ survival and their defense mechanism.
Thomas, who has the drug first, has the vision of Victor dodging a white man by stealing his pony in order to be a hero and earn his name in traditional ways (Alexie, 2005; 15). This vision compensates for unconscious need of American Indians to take revenge from the Whites. This time it is the American Indian who steals something from the whites rather than vice versa.
When Junior takes the drug while he is driving, he has the vision of Thomas dancing. Junior mentions about the smallpox infected blankets that have been given by White men to speed the decline of American Indian population. In his vision, Junior himself is the last one from his tribe and he dances traditional Ghost Dance to bring his elders and dead members of the tribe back. In his vision, “with every step, an Indian rises” (Alexie, 2005; 17). They grow larger and larger and go on dancing the Ghost Dance in expanding circles until all the ships, with White people waving good-bye, return to Europe. Junior’s vision reflects the fact that, as an American Indian, he is disturbed and distressed he is due to the results of white colonization and assimilation processes. This vision clearly indicates Junior’s perspective that if he had a chance, he would make the time move backward and he would make things the way they used to be before white man’s arrival. However, his wish can be no more than a vision, where he can experience a temporary relief.
Impressed by the strong effect of the drug, Victor takes it, he sees Junior singing on a stage as a very famous music star. Then, Victor starts to tell his vision in first person narration:
I’ve been singing at the Plantation since I was ten years old and have always drawn big crowds. All the white folks come to hear my songs, my little pieces of Indian wisdom, although they have to sit in the back of the theatre because all the Indians get the best tickets for my shows. It’s not racism. The Indians just camp put all night to buy tickets. Even the President of the United States, Mr. Edgar Crazy Horse himself, came to hear me once. I played a song I wrote for his great-grandfather, the famous Lakota warrior who helped us win the war against the whites:
Crazy Horse, What have you done? Crazy Horse, What have you done? It took four hundred years
And four hundred thousand guns But the Indians finally won.
Ya-hey, the Indians finally won (Alexie, 2005; 18-19).
Being almost always insulted and regarded as inferior by White people, Victor diverts this reality in his vision; American Indians are so superior and mainstream that even
